Meeting Ted's parents
by NyxBorn
Summary: Andromeda just wants to meet Ted's parents. Along the way, she has to drop Sirius off at the Potters, where she meets Dorea Potter, whose garden really creeps her out. She also has to drop off Peter and Remus, and gets mistaken for Bellatrix. Cont inside.


And finds out Remus's secret. But she dosen't know that.

I needed to get out. I absolutely needed to get out of this place, with its' pureblood mania and with Bella sulking and rubbing her left arm and Cissa's silence and Mother and Father's worrying about Bella. (Why are they worrying about her? She's perfectly fine, except for a little mental instability! They should be worrying about Rius-Sirius and Cissa and me! They see me when I sneak back into the house after long hours spent with Ted!) And I need to go and meet Ted's parents. For some reason, my name to them will be "Andrea Brown." It's ...similar to mine, I suppose, but... I just don't like it.

Call me Bellatrix, but I am proud of my name. I may be planning to leave it and have a chance the size of Cornish Pixie brain (absolutely minuscule)of not being disowned, but I like my name. I like the power that I have over the other purebloods that are mean to others. We are born with better blood, that means we have responsibilities to help the Muggle-Borns, whether it be for Herbology or Arithmancy. We should help them with Sortings, and share maps our parents gave to us. We should protect them from attacks, by teaching them advanced dueling spells that our parents taught us. At least, that's what I thought until I realized I liked Ted. Then my opinions remained almost the same, but without the "Better Blood" part, and acting like they are stupid.

Anyway, I should really stop rambling in my head now. Andromeda shook her head to get rid of the heavy thoughts that had been stored in her head, thickening her mental barriers. Once satisfied, she began brushing her hair ruthlessly. When she had reached the requisite fifty strokes, as opposed to Cissa's one hundred, and Bella's twenty-five if she didn't lose interest, and her hair was not too matted, she tossed on a pair of Bella's old robes that was given to her when she was fourteen and not taken back when it was obvious she did not get Bella's...size in certain places. The robes were well-made and comfortable, so Andromeda would wear it to meeting Ted's parents. After some consideration, she made her hair into the same style she had before she was pushed into the Lake by Ted. As she snuck out of her room in Grimmauld Place, she ran into Sirius.

"Sirius! What are you doing?" Sirius pouted at Andromeda.

"I'm going to James's house, but the Floo Network in James's house went out. So now I'm stuck here until I manage to convince you or Bellatrix or Aunt Druella or Uncle Orion or Mother or Father to Apparate me there. But...can you do it?" He looked up at her hesitantly, his gray eyes somehow looking younger.

Andromeda sighed, calculating the time it would take to go to Professor- no- Minerva's house, explain what she was going to do, and go to Ted's parents's house. "All right," she said finally. "I'll do it."

Sirius whooped with glee. "Thanks, Rommy! You're my favorite cousin! I'll owe you Rommy!"

Andromeda grabbed Sirius's hand. "Okay, now. I'll just tell Bella and Cissa and Walburga and Orion and my parents. BELLA! CISSA! REGGIE! AUNT WALBURGA! UNCLE ORION! MOTHER! FATHER! I'M GOING TO THE POTTER HOUSE WITH RIUS! THEN I'M GOING TO MCGONAGALL'S HOUSE!"

The results varied.

"ANDRY! DO YOU KNOW WHERE I PUT MY WAND?" (Bella. Really? Bella!)

"MEDA, BE CAREFUL!" (Cissa. I know my way around London!)

"ANDROMEDA! IT ISN'T PROPER FOR A PURE-BLOOD LADY OF YOUR STATUS TO SHOUT!" (Why Aunt Walburga did not realize she was shouting is beyond me.)

"ARE YOU SURE YOU KNOW HOW TO APPARATE?" (Uncle Orion. Really?)

"GOOD LUCK WITH APPARATING!" (Reggie. Why him and his father thought I didn't know how to Apparate is beyond me.)

"DON'T SHAME THE HOUSE OF BLACK!" (But, Mother! I am!)

"AND THAT IS IMPORTANT, WHY?" (No reason, Father. Just telling you where the Black heir will be, and what I'm doing, more or less.)

Andromeda bit her mouth to keep in her responses. But one slipped out. "Bella! Your wand is in your hand!"

"Oops! Sorry!" A loud belly laugh came down from Bella's room. "My mistake! But Andry, did you see my-"

"BYE, BELLA!"Andromeda sang loudly, horribly, and quite out-of-tune. She tugs Sirius out of the house.

He looked at her curiously. "How do you always know where Bellatrix's wand is? " He peered up at her.

"It's always either in her robes, her whatever-you-call-it thing on her garter, her hand, or on her desk."

"Oh. So it's not magic?"

"No. Just knowing Bella more then I know myself." Andromeda gave him a small, sad smile. "I don't know what will happen when she leaves. Or when I do."

Sirius nodded, as he knew exactly what Andromeda meant. Unlike Andromeda, Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Regulus, Sirius made it his business to learn politics, the Daily Prophet, and was growing up in a war. He was, in many ways, more mature then any if them at a very young age. He shook his head. "I'm not going to have a lot more time with you, will I?"

Andromeda hugged him. "When Narcissa graduates, I'm leaving. One year. One year, and I plan to make the most of it." She let go of his robes, and grasped his forearm, and Disapparated to the Potter house. Sirius promptly ran in it. Andromeda was pleasantly surprised to see it was a small cottage, with a flower garden, full of bursting flowers, the ones second-closest to her being bright pink ones. But the ones nearest her were delicate Narcissus flowers, which clung to rosewood trees and walnut trees, which in turn hugged close to the rosewood trees: leant on them like the sisters themselves.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Andromeda jumped at the female voice. "I built, designed, planted it so that if you took out the rosewood, everything would collapse. Everything learns on the rosewood- the Narcissus flowers, the lilies, the violets, the roses, the petunias, especially the walnut trees." Dorea Potter speaks casually, without knowing the pain her garden and words were causing Andromeda. Unusual for a Black, her hair fell straight down her back, like Cissa's or a unicorn tail. Must be from the Bulstrodes, somehow. Gray and white hairs, if there where any, was tiny in number. Her face was remarkably unlined, and her gray eyes were almost like Andromeda's own- big, innocent-looking, and lightly-lidded.

"Annie? No, Andromeda, is it? Still naming the kids after stars, is it? I never was. I was so jealous of Pollux, Cassiopeia, and Marius. Marius was in astronomy, at least. Dorea just meant "Gift". I would of liked to be named Nashira or Kitalpha. I think. But I've grown used to the name Dorea, just like I bet you are used to the name Andromeda Black. How old are you? Eighteen? You'll be married by next year. All things must come to an end. You'll no longer be Andromeda Black, not anymore, and you will miss it. I guarantee that, Miss Andromeda Elladora Black."

Andromeda blinked back a tear, strengthened her mental barriers, and composed herself, her face automatically turning calm and composed, her voice icy and upperclass. "I assure you, Mrs. Potter, I will miss it most dreadfully. I am not some young girl who counts the seconds to be married."

Dorea Potter's cheerful smile dropped from her face, her voice turning as icy as Andromeda's. "I see. Will you miss your sisters or merely cast them off?"

Just as Andromeda was about to reply, a cheerful male voice rang out. "Dorry, is someone here?"

"Yes, Charlus! You didn't think Sirius Apparated here by himself, did you?"

"Well, who is it?"

"Andromeda! His older cousin. My young cousin."

"The names you Blacks give out! I'm lucky I fell in love with Dorea and not her sister! I like short names! Easy names, you know! Common ones!" By this time, Charlus Potter had made an arrival. Strangely, for a Potter, he lacked the black hair, and sported hair of a light brown, what used to be Andromeda's hair before Fifth Year.. Noticing Andromeda staring at his hair, he turned his head away. "I don't have the Potter dark hair, Miss Black, but my wife can pass on her hair. I still have the untidiness. That is a Potter trait, as unique to us as the gray eyes and the messy hair you Blacks put so much importance-"

"CHARLUS RICHARD POTTER! I was a Black, too, if you remember. And yes. As a lot of Wizarding families have pale skin and dark hair, it was one way to know if the child was from both parents before the Parenting Spell. So yes, a lot of importance was placed on it. Now, Andromeda, I hear Narcissa has neither? Are you sure she is your full sister?"

"Yes. I am. Narcissa resembles the Rosier of our mother, has the black ring, and a small undertone of gray. Narcissa Cassiopeia Black is a true Black daughter, a true Black Sister. " Andromeda tilts her head.

"You are called the Black sisters?" Dorea queried.

"Yes. "Scary Black", "Quiet Black", and "Blond Black". Bella-Bellatrix, me, and Ciss-Narcissa."

"Cass and I where never called Black sisters," Dorea informs her. "We hated each other. She hated that I got Charlus, and I hated her because she got the looks and the star name."

Andromeda nods her head in sympathy. "I feel that way towards Narcissa and Bellatrix sometimes. They lean on me too much. I need to break away. Your garden symbolizes us. The Narcissus flowers hangs on both the walnut trees and the rosewood. The walnut trees lean on the rosewood trees. My wand is rosewood. Bella's is walnut."

Dorea finishes the thought. "And when you're taken away, the who family falls apart."

Set on edge by the odd conversation, Andromeda shivers. "But it will happen. Next year."

"To Ted Tonks. A Muggle-Born. Bellatrix and Narcissa will hate you. It scares you, doesn't it?" Dorea runs a hand over the rosewood trees.

"What-How-No. You must have gotten some wrong information. My parents are giving me an arranged marriage. I am sorry, but who you have gotten your information from is sadly mistaken."

Dorea's eyes stare at her. "Andromeda. I have heard James and Sirius discussing it with Remus. And from the way you reacted, it is true. Remember, Andromeda. Once you leave, you cannot come back. Make sure you love him, Andy. Make sure, or you will be miserable."

Andromeda nodded. "I'm sure. I love him. I can get the others. I know where they live."

Dorea's face brightens. "That would be excellent, Andy!"

"My name isn't Andy, Dorry!" Andromeda Disaparated to Remus's house. She liked him the best. He, should tell, was almost in Ravenclaw. She felt that if they had both been in Ravenclaw, she would feel like he was a younger brother, instead of a younger cousin. She didn't like Pettigrew that much.

As she rang the bell, a pretty woman with light brown hair answered the door. Taking in Andromeda's brown-black hair, stature, height, and thin girth, she rudely slammed the door. Perplexed, Andromeda rang the doorbell again.

"I'm here to get Remus!" The door flew open, and the same woman, this time with a man, had raised wands.

"You will never touch my son!" The woman screamed.

"Stay away from him!" The man echoed. "Or we'll curse you!"

"Wait! Wait!" Why did they want to curse her? She lifted her arms in surrender, the robes falling down to her elbows. The man grabbed her left forearm and rubbed it harshly.

"What are you doing?" She spat, twisting her arm out of his grasp. "I should hex you for that! I really should! First, I come over to get Remus to bring him over to James's house, and you try to curse me and you rub my arm! I could get you put in Azkaban for that! I'm Andromeda Elladora Black, sister of Bellatrix Druella Black Lestrange and Narcissa Cassiopeia Black-eventually-to-be-Malfoy, and the daughter of Cygnus Black and Druella Rosier Black!"

Both of them looked embarrassed and ashamed. "Sorry." The man apologized. "We thought you where someone else..."

(AN- I started writing this the day before I got an operation. Now I just got it and am recovering, so the next parts may seem a little weird. I'm doped up on pain meds.)

"Who else could I be?" Andromeda laughed. "Bella? Cissa? I'm sorry, you can't mean them,"

"Er, never mind. Remus! Someone's here to take you to James's!"

Remus steps out. "Hello, Andromeda! Pleasant, day. Isn't it? Sorry about my Mum and Dad. They thought you where someone else, wanting to make me join You-Know-Who, because of what I am-" He claps his hands over his mouth.

Andromeda looks at him curiously. "Who could I be? Bella? I'm not a Death Eater, and neither is she. And you're not a pureblood, you're a half-blood, so what are you? Some kind of a Dark creature? And what could you be that resembles a human? A werewolf? A something-else? I was never good at DADA, or Care of Magical Creatures." She said it with sarcasm, which Remus didn't pick up on.

Remus gapes at her. "You can't tell anyone! No one! You don't know? About Bellatrix? You can't tell! No one, especially not your family!"

Andromeda rolls her eyes. "Okay...whatever I'm not supposed to tell, I won't... And Bella is not a Death Eater! She isn't! She can't be!" Confused, she grabs his Muggle attire and Disaparated to the Potter house. When she arrives, Sirius and James are standing outside. They each grab one of Remus's arms and tug him inside.

Andromeda Disaparated to Pettigrew's house, wishing it was over already. She could be at Ted's already! Why did she have to have her conscience kick in? What did she get? Insults, a bruise, people trying to curse her, people think Bella was a Death Eater, why did she have to get in a sentimental mood? Why, in Merlin's name?

As she arrived at Pettigrew's house, she quickly cast a little Protego, in case Pettigrew's parents thought she came to kidnap Pettigrew and bring him to the Dark Lord. Luckily, the parents just gave Pettigrew to her.

"Oh, you're Andromeda Black here to bring Peter to James's house? Here he is."

Although Peter was polite enough, and nice she never liked him. It was the way he seemed to align himself with the winning team. She bet Slytherin was the best house for him, but Rius, Remus, and Potter seemed to like him well enough. She delivered him, then Apparated to Minerva's house and rapped the old-fashioned doorknocker.

"Prof- I mean Minerva! It's me, Andromeda! You said I could come over!"

Minerva opened the door, letting Andromeda inside. Andromeda smiled gracefully at her. "You would not believe what happened to me. I Apparated Rius-Sirius, I mean, to Potter's house. His mother was so creepy. Well, she's my cousin too. Not sure what kind of cousin. James is my parents' cousin. I think. Potter's my first cousin once removed. So he's my father's cousin or one of mine, Rius's, Reggie's, Bella's, or Cissa's kid's cousin. One of those, anyway. And I picked up Remus and his parents tried to attack me! They seemed to think I was Bella trying to get Remus to join the Dark Side. How ridicules is that? And anyway, Remus seems to think he's some sort of Dark Creature, I just don't know what. I was horrible at DADA, and Care of Magical Creatures, barely managing to get an 'Exceeds Expectations.' Why did they seem to think Bella was on the Dark Lord's side? That's nonsense. Bella may be, well, not strictly on the Light Side, but Bella isn't evil! And Remus's parents rubbed my left arm harshly. What do you think that was about? And they wanted to curse me! Then I had to pick Pettigrew up, and you know I don't like that kid. What is up with his parents?"

Minerva sighed. "Andromeda-"

"Call me Drom. You've known me for what, eight years? I liked to think I was one of your favorite Slytherin students, if not your favorite. I liked you as much as Professor Slughorn and Dumbledore. And you know I liked them."

"Andromeda. You may not like to hear this, but Bellatrix isn't as innocent as you think she is."

"She is! Bella isn't evil! And Prof-Minerva. Could you cover for me? I'm going to Ted's. meeting his parents. I haven't met them. Yet. And my family thinks I'll be at your house. Please! If they fire-call, say I'm- I don't know-in the loo, taking a shower, eating. Please? I need to meet Ted's parents and I'm almost late!"

Minerva nods. "Fine. Go I'm getting a headache. " Andromeda squeals, hugged her former teacher and Disaparated or at least tried to.

"Ow." She had walked into a wall. "Espikey. No, that's not it...Episky. Yeah, that."The minor spell healed the small bump on her head. "Bye, Minerva." She walks out the door and Disaparated successfully this time. She sighs in contentment. "Thank Merlin."

Andromeda sees Ted waiting for her. "Ted! I'm here! I'm here! Sorry I took so long! I was bringing my cousin to Potter's house and I also Apparated Remus and Pettigrew there. Sorry again."

"It's okay...Andrea."

Andromeda blinks, confused, but then remembers her cover story. "Ted, we've been over this. Call me Drea." It was the closet thing to "Dromeda" that was Muggle-appropriate. She sees Ted's parents. "My name is Andrea Brown, though you may call me Miss Brown, Andrea, or Andy." She holds out her hand, and tilts it at a forty-five degree angle. She forgot whether her hand was to be shaken or kissed.

Ted's mother raises her blond eyebrows. "May? Ted, who did you bring home? A princess?"

Andromeda flushes. Ted saves her. "Just about. She was raised like everyone was below her. Drea here is rich. Her family has a lot of money, and is very important."

Mr. Tonks raised his eyebrows. "Ms. Brown. Will we ever meet this family of yours?"

Andromeda's eyebrows shoot up. She hadn't expected this question. She thickened her mental barriers, turning her face to stone, relaxing her. That little trick for some reason helped her think of a cover story. Maybe she was put to good use in Slytherin, after all.. "No. I'm sorry. My parents travel a lot. My older sister Bella takes care of me, and I in turn take care of my younger sister, Nancy, and my younger cousins. Steven and Ryan." Those where the first Muggle names that popped into her head. She'd heard some Stevens and Ryans be Sorted in her time. Luckily, she had remembered Narcissa's Muggle name.

"Bella. Short for Isabella?" This came from Ted's mother.

"Yes, Ma'am. My parents' names are...Drucilla and ...Cyril." Again, the first names that popped into her head. She had heard some purebloods named Cyril, but decided it was Muggle enough. Drucilla was a name of an evil stepsister to Cinder-Ella she had heard Ted tell her about. Perhaps it was Muggle-friendly enough.

"Come in, Andrea." Mrs. Tonks beckoned to Andromeda. Trying to remember that she was Andrea, she walked into Ted's house. It was small, but bright.

"So, when did you meet our Ted?" Mr. Tonks asked. Andromeda smiled. She could get back at Ted.

"Well, he pushed me into a lake. We met on the train. I wasn't the nicest person. I was raised thinking everyone was below me. After that, we had large fights before we got into detention. We had to make all the hospital beds and clean them. Since I didn't know how to do that, Ted helped me. I began to like him consciously. I had liked him since he walked into my compartment and I told him to get out. But being the silly eleven year old that I was, I didn't admit it to myself. That was in out Third Year. Ted didn't realize I fancied him, though. I think. Two years later we became Prefects and began dating. Then, in our Sixth Year, near summer vacation, he proposed. We became Head Girl and Boy in our Seventh Year. We were engaged, and my cousin ...Steven caught us kissing. Nothing else happened. Just kissing, I mean. Er, we continued dating when we left Hogwarts."

"Well." Mrs. Tonks looked slightly appalled that Andromeda had been mean to her son. "I simply cannot see why he helped you in your Third Year, when you were fighting."

Ted jumps in. "I had liked...Andrea since my Second Year. I felt sorry for her. She was making a mess. She had absolutely no idea how to make or clean a bed, wandless."

Mrs. Tonks looks at Andromeda. "You had no idea?"

Andromeda flushes. "My family had servants. I never saw them make the bed. When I was old enough to learn spells, I did the cleaning spells. I now know how to clean up after myself without magic."

Mr. Tonks leans towards Andromeda. "Ignore my wife. She always wanted a daughter-in-law who knew how to cook and clean."

Andromeda laughs. This family was so much more warm and funny and loving then her family. Except for her generation. "I assure you, Mr. and Mrs. Tonks, I do know how to cook and clean now. Without magic. I even like it. It's very fun."

Mrs. Tonks raises her eyebrows. "Cleaning is...fun?"

Andromeda nods. "Oh, yes! I never had cooked and cleaned without magic before! It's like a whole new experience!" Her gray eyes sparkle and her hair, which had fell out of its' elegant bun, falls over her shoulders.

Mrs. Tonks smiles. "Welcome to the Tonks family, Andrea. I can tell we are going to like you."

Andromeda smiles. "Please, call me Andromeda."

Ted slaps himself on his forehead. Both his parents look confused. "Andromeda? I thought your name was Andrea!"

"I'm sorry. I hated to lie to you. But my family doesn't approve. My family has been witches and wizards for centuries, even thousands of years. One of the first pureblood families. Ted is Muggle-Born. I will be disinherited when Ted and I marry. I only lied to see if you approved of me. I thought you might think I was snotty with a name like Andromeda." Andromeda bowed her head. A tear slipped out of her eye. She had practiced that trick for years.

"Is your last name really Brown?" This time, it was Mr. Tonks who had asked the question.

"No. Sorry, Sir. It's Black. And my parents's names are Cygnus and Druella. My sisters's names are Bellatrix and Narcissa. My cousins's names are Regulus and Sirius."

Mrs. Tonks nods. "I thought something was wrong. You took a while to respond when we asked you their names. And when we called you Andrea, you would look blank for a minute. Thank you for being honest with us, Andromeda. But was your story really true?"

Andromeda fidgets slightly. "Yes, and no. I pulled Ted into the lake when he tried to pull me up. And the large fights included someone, usually Ted getting hurt. I was better with spells. I'm sorry for getting your son hurt."

Ted elbows Andromeda. "She once turned all the hair on my body into mud!"

Mrs. Tonks glares at Andromeda. "Ms. Black, so you had bullied my son?"

Andromeda whitened. "Mrs. Tonks-Ma'am, I didn't know I was wrong. Nature verses Nurture!" She pulled out a phrase she had heard Ted say to her. "I was taught to believe everyone was lower then me. If mud came into your house, you would clean it up, right?"

Mrs. and Mr. Tonks looked furious. "Are you comparing us to mud?"

Andromeda shifted her eyes left and right. "No! I mean, that was what I was taught to believe! You're not mud! You just can't do magic! It was just chance I was born into a certain family! And I don't agree with them in that case! Muggles are just as good as purebloods! And when I marry Ted, I will be disinherited! I love your son, Mr. and Mrs. Tonks. I love him. I'm in love with him. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you! I just had a bad day. Someone accused my sister of being evil and tried to curse me! My mother cares more about the family image then me, even though she loves me...I think. She loves my younger sister more. My father also loves me, but loves my older sister more. My mother's side of the family like Narcissa better, because she looks like them. My father's side like Bellatrix better, because she looks like them. The kids like me better. On both sides, if only two of my parents' children could live, it would be the one that looks like their side, and me! I am loved less, and more by my family. I am always compared to my sisters. When I came to Hogwarts, everyone thought I would be like Bellatrix, and most had prejudices about me. I'm not my family. I always was different. I never understood why some people were worse the others, but I followed along. The House I was in-Slytherin- was not the House best suited for me. I'm not very cunning, sly, or ambitious. The House I was best suited for was Ravenclaw- the House of wisdom, learning, and wit. I was only placed in Slytherin after begging the Sorting Hat. I wanted to be with my sisters."

Andromeda had no idea why she was telling Ted's parents her life story. But Ted's mother looked like a Mum, not a Mother. She looked comforting and kind. Ted's father looked like a Dad, not a Father. He looked kind and humorous. She wanted them to be her parents. Andromeda felts tears come out of hers eyes. She tried to stop them, but she couldn't. Ted's mother gathered Andromeda in a hug.

"There, there." She said. "You're all right. Everything is going to be all right."

And for once, Andromeda just let herself cry. She wanted to be herself, not who Andromeda should be. She made up her mind to marry Ted, even if her sisters begged her not to, and Bella tried to murder her. She needed a Mum and a Dad. And for once, she would have them. Andromeda let herself cry, then stopped. "Thank you, future Mother-in-Law. I- I'll try to visit soon." As she Disapparated away to Grimmauld Place, she wiped off her tears. She was going to leave her family in a year. She would make her last year her best there. But she couldn't wait to be Andromeda Tonks.


End file.
